Apparatus for recovering bulk material from a pile

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for recovering bulk material from the face of a pile comprises a rotatable tube disposed with its axis parallel to the face of the pile. The tube wall has a plurality of ports and a like plurality of buckets are affixed to the outer surface of the tube wall in communication with respective ports. At least one helical discharge channel in the inner surface of the tube wall receives the material recovered by the buckets and passed through the ports into the interior of the tube to convey this material to an open discharge end of the tube.

O United States Patent 1 1 1111 3,788,446 Postel-Vinay Jan. 29, 1974 [54] APPARATUS FOR RECOVERING BULK I 3,297,410 H1967 deljsle 198/211 X MATERIAL O A PILE 3,306,476 2/1967 McMillan 214/11) [75] Inventor: Francis Postel-Vlnay, Paris, France FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPUCATIONS sig Fi s aris France Germany [22] I Filed: May 1972" Primary ExaminerFrank E. Werner [21] Appl. No.: 250,141

[57] ABSTRACT [30] Foreign Application Priority Data An apparatus for recovering bulk material from the May 4, 1971 France 7115936 face of P comprises a rotatable tube disposed with its axis parallel to the face of the pile. The tube wall 521 US. Cl 198/36, 198/215, 214/10 has a plurality of ports and a like plurality of buckets 51 1111. C1. B65g 59/00 are affixed to the Outer Surface of the tube Wall in [58] Field of s zm o; 37/189 R, 189 B 190 R, communication with respective ports. At least one he- 37/19O 198/369, 5 2] 1 lical discharge channel in the inner surface of the tube wall receives the material recovered by the buckets [56] References Cited and passed through the ports into the interior of the UNITED STATES PATENTS tube to convey this material to an open discharge end of the tube. 860,706 7/1907 Trump 198/215 3,612,246 10/1971 Elze'et al. 198/36 4 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures JUU UUUUU mmnzmms 1974 3,788,446

SHEEI 2 BF 5 FIG. 2

FIG. 60

ATENTEDJAH29 i974 3, 788 446 SHEU 5 0F 5 APPARATUS FOR RECOVERING BULK MATERIAL FROM A PILE The present invention relates to improvements in apparatus for recovering bulk material from the face of a pile of the material which may be disposed in a storage space or in a silo.

In one known type of such apparatus, a tube with a circumferential wall having'an inner and an outer surface is disposed with the axis thereof substantially parallel to the face of the pile and is rotatable about its axis. The circumferential tube wall has a plurality of ports and a like plurality of buckets are affixed to the outer surface of the wall and in communication with respective ones of the ports.

In this type of apparatus, it has been proposed to mount the tube on a chassis supported at its two ends by undercarriages running on rails on each side of the pile and parallel to the pile axis. Such a chassis, whose length exceeds the width of the pile and which is not supported between its ends, is very heavy.

On the other hand, the recovered material moved by the buckets into the interior of the tube is generally received by a conveyor band or the like in the interior of the tube, which necessitates a rather larger diameter of the tube to accommodate the conveyor.

Furthermore, in certain cases, the tube and the conveyor are supported on the chassis only at their ends, which necessitates a very rigid structure for these elements to avoid their bending, which further increases the weight and cost of the apparatus.

It is the primary object of this invention to provide an apparatus of the general type herein described which is relatively light and, therefore, less costly than known apparatus of a similar nature.

This and other objects are accomplished in accordance with the invention by providing at least one helical discharge channel in the inner surface of the tube wall and arranged to receive material recovered by the buckets and passed through the ports into the interior of the tube, and to convey this material to an open discharge end of the tube.

Replacing the conveyor band of the prior art apparatus by the helices permits, on the one hand, to reduce the diameter of the tube to a minimum required for the helices to discharge the material and to increase the mechanical strength of the tube while, on the other hand, reducing the length of the chassis because it need no longer support the conveyor at both ends. Since the helices reinforce the tube wall, the wall itself may be of smaller gauge, thus further decreasing the weight of the apparatus.

The above and other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will be better understood from the following detailed description of certain preferred embodiments thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein FIG. 1 is a plan view of an apparatus for recovering bulk material from a rectilinear storage space by means of a tubular shovel according to one embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of this apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the tubular shovel;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1 of another embodiment of the apparatus for recovering bulk material from an arcuately shaped storage space;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the latter embodiment, taken in the region of the exterior path of movement;

FIGS. 6a and 6b are side elevational views of the apparatus of FIG. 4 in the region of the pivot; and

Referring now to the drawing, wherein like reference numerals designate like parts functioning in a like manner in all figures, FIGS. 1 to 3 show an apparatus for recovering bulk material by means of a tubular shovel 10 whose length is about equal to, or slightly in excess of, the width of the pile 12 of bulk material. The tubular shovel is carried on a frame or chassis 14 which may be displaced perpendicularly to the face of pile 12.

The tubular shovel 10 is supported on two pairs of rollers 16 for rotation about its axis, the rollers being driven through reduction gears 20 by motors 18. At the point of contact between the tubular shovel l0 and the rollers, the tube is reinforced by steel bands 22 which serve as the raceway for the rollers. As may best be seen in FIG. 3, the tube is supported by the rollers in two intermediate regions spacedfrom the respective ends of the tube.

In the illustrated embodiment, the two supports are spaced from the respective ends of the tube at about the same distance. However, since the discharge end of the tube is loaded more heavily, it may be useful and advantageous to move these points of supports through the discharge end to take into account the uneven distribution of the charge. If it is desired to reduce the load on each roller, a plurality of rollers may be grouped together on a pivotal buggie.

The tubular shovel 10 carries a series of buckets 24 disposed about the circumference of the tube in a manner assuring an even take-up and discharge of the bulk material. Each bucket is mounted at the end of a channel or duct 26 fixed to the tube and extending radially therefrom, each channel or duct communicating with the interior of the tube by a port in the wall thereof. This arrangement makes it possible to dispose the buckets at a sufficient distance from the tube to reach the base of the pile 12 while, at the same time, permitting the tube to be mounted high enough off the ground to permit it to be emptied into a-conveyor 29 running along the storage space.

A series of helices 28 fixed to the interior wall of the tube 10 communicate with respective ports to receive the bulk material recovered by buckets 26 and convey it to the open end of the tube (at the left in FIGS. 1 and 3) whence it is discharged to endless conveyor band 29 which runs parallel to the rectilinear pile 12 to remove the recovered material. 7

The channels or ducts 26 may be extended inwardly through the ports in the wall of tube 10 to a length at least equal to the depth of helices 28 to prevent material being conveyed through the helices from falling out again through the ports while they pass through the tube to its discharge end. It is also possible to provide baffles in front of the ports to channel the material in the helices towards the discharge end.

The chassis 14 is mounted on four undercarriages 30 which run on two rails 32 parallel to the longitudinal axis of the pile. Preferably, as shown, the undercarriages support the chassis at the same points where the rollers support the tube. Two of these undercarriages (see FIG. 2) support the chassis underneath and in alignment with the tube 10. The wheels of these undercarriages may be driven or they may be idling rollers.

The two other undercarriages are disposed behind the tube, i.e=, at the end of the chassis remote from the pile 12, and their wheels are driven by motors 34 through a reduction gear 35.

If desired, the undercarriages may be swivel trucks pivotal about a vertical axis, which permits the wheels to be disposed parallel to the axis of tube when the apparatus is transferred from one storage space to another.

In apparatus of small capacity, the undercarriages may be replaced by simple wheels and, on the other hand, in heavy machines a larger number of undercarriages may be placed along the length of the chassis and the number of wheels may be increased to improve operations.

As shown in FIG. 3, it may be desirable to mount a counterweight 36 on the remote end of the chassis 14 behind the undercarriages supporting it to increase the load on these undercarriages and relieve the load on the undercarriages below the tube 10.

A rake 38 is supported by carriage 40 which is displaceable back-and-forth on the chassis 14 in the direction of the tube axis. The rake is pivoted to the carriage 40 at 42 near one end of the rake while the other end thereof is connected by a cable to jack 44 to permit the inclination of the rake to be adapted to the angle of the face of the pile. This rake serves to loosen the higher portion of the pile which cannot be reached by the buckets 24 of the tube.

In operation, the apparatus is advanced along rails 32 towards the face of pile 12 at a speed determined by the recovery rate of the apparatus. This advance, which is generally very slow, may be continuous or step-by-step.

The tubular shovel 10 is rotated about its axis so that the buckets 24 recover or collect the bulk material from the base of the pile 12, additional material being constantly moved towards the base by rake 38. The material recovered by the buckets 24 is moved into the tube through the channels 26 and the ports in the tube wall, the interior helices 28 conveying the material towards the open end of the tube whence it falls on conveyor 29 for removal.

Ascan be seen in FIG. 3, the buckets 24 are so spaced axially from one another that, after the apparatus has passed, there remain on the storage space longitudinally entending ribbons of residual material which has not been recovered by the buckets. While this is not too serious, the bucket spacing may be so adjusted as to reduce or remove these residues. Acutally, no spac in g between the buckets is required, except where they must make room for the undercarriages under the tube. if desired, the rails 32 may be raised to reduce the effect of the spacing of the buckets.

A similar apparatus may be used for horseshoeshaped storage piles of bulk material, except that the axes of the wheels on which the chassis moves converge towards the center of the installation, and the rectilinear conveyor 29 is replaced by a central hopper and its funnel.

Such an apparatus is illustrated in FIG. 4 to 6 showing a tubular shovel 10' supported on chassis 14' in front of a shorseshoe-shaped pile 12' of bulk material.

The tube is supported, on the one hand, by a pair, or

larger number, of idler rollers 16' and, on the other hand, by a roller bearing mounted on support by means of a coaxial shaft 17 affixed to, or integral with, the tube 10. The support 15 is pivoted at the end of the chassis which is disposed at the center of the horseshoe-shaped pile. The shaft 17 rotates the tube and is driven by motor 18' through reduction gear 20'.

The buckets 24', channels 26' and helices 28 function in the same manner as the equivalent parts described hereinabove in connection with FIGS. 1 to 3. If desired, the tube 10' may be inclined towards the center to increase the throughput of the helices, in which case the channels 26' become increasingly shorter towards the center. A HOPPER 27 in the center receives the material discharged from the helices, the open funnel of the hopper discharging the material to a conveyor 29.

The chassis 14' is supported, on the one hand, by undercarriages 30 which run on rail 32 in a circular path and, on the other hand, by pin 21 pivoting in support 23 to permit the chassis to be pivoted about the axis of the horseshoe-shaped pile. While only the rear wheels 30' are driven in the illustrated embodiment, they may all be driven.

In the illustrated embodiment, the buckets are so disposed as to sweep the entire face of the pile, except to the right of rail 32'.

The embodiments shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 require no means for loosening the bulk material, such as rake 38, and the latter does not form an essential part of the apparatus of the invention. Also, other means than those described and illustrated may be used to support the tubular shovel, to rotate it and to loosen the bulk material, if required.

The apparatus may be used for the recovery of such bulk materials as piles of coal, stones, gravel, cement or other mineral substances on any type of storage space or silos.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for recovering bulk'material from the face of a pile of the material, comprising a tube with a circumferential wall having an inner and an outer surface, the tube being disposed with the axis thereof substantially parallel to the face of the pile and being rotatable about said axis, the tube having an open discharge end, the circumferential tube wall having a plurality of ports and channels radially extending from the ports, a like plurality of bucketsaffixed to the outer ends of the channels and in communication with respective ones of the ports, and at least one helical discharge channel in the inner surface of the wall and arranged to receive material recovered by the buckets and passed from the channels through the ports into the interior of the tube, and to convey this material to the open discharge end of the tube; a mobile chassis for support of the tube, and rotary elements supporting the tube for rotation on the chassis intermediate the ends of the tube.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a first set of undercarriages supporting the chassis underneath the tube and a second set of undercarriages supporting the chassis at the end thereof remote from the face of the pile.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the rotary element are two sets of rollers rotatably supporting the tube at points remote from the tube ends.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the mobile chas sis carries a bearing supporting a coaxial shaft affixed to one of the tube ends and a set of rollers located between the tube ends. 

1. An apparatus for recovering bulk material from the face of a pile of the material, comprising a tube with a circumferential wall having an inner and an outer surface, the tube being disposed with the axis thereof substantially parallel to the face of the pile and being rotatable about said axis, the tube having an open discharge end, the circumferential tube wall having a plurality of ports and channels radially extending from the ports, a like plurality of buckets affixed to the outer ends of the channels and in communication with respective ones of the ports, and at least one helical discharge channel in the inner surface of the wall and arranged to receive material recovered by the buckets and passed from the channels through the ports into the interior of the tube, and to convey this material to the open discharge end of the tube; a mobile chassis for support of the tube, and rotary elements supporting the tube for rotation on the chassis intermediate the ends of the tube.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a first set of undercarriages supporting the chassis underneath the tube and a second set of undercarriages supporting the chassis at the end thereof remote from the face of the pile.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the rotary element are two sets of rollers rotatably supporting the tube at points remote from the tube ends.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the mobile chassis carries a bearing supporting a coaxial shaft affixed to one of the tube ends and a set of rollers located between the tube ends. 